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NOVEMBER, 1890.]
(18-19.) "The Tishya age is stated's (to consist of) 1200 divya (years). Know the Dvâpara to be double (of that); the Trêtâ is declared to be treble; the Kritayuga fourfold; and a Chaturyuga is said, O Rama, (to consist of) the sum of the number of (their) years, vis. 12,000."
BOOK-NOTICES.
(356.) "One Manvantara is here declared (to consist) of 71 Chaturyugas."
(36-37.) "But know, O Ráma, that 14 Manus are one Kalpa. At the beginning, in the middle (between each two Manvantaras) and in the intervals there is a Samdhi, O lord, of the measure of one Kritayuga. But the wise call 1000 Chaturyugas one Kalpa.""
(38.) "And a Kalpa is declared to be a day of Brahman-Parameshthin; and his night during which he sleeps, O Scion of Bhrigu, is of equal length."
(39.) "Brahman lives one whole century which consists of such nychthemera, days, months and so forth, O Scion of Bhrigu."
In connection with this passage Bêrani states. that the above was communicated by Varuna to Rama the son of Dasaratha, and that the same information was also given by Bhârgava, i.e. Markandeya. Bêrani, moreover, adds with respect to the latter: "He is to the Hindus like the angel of death who kills them with his seat, being apratidhrishya (irresistible)." This is a curious mixture of truth and error. The Vishnu dharmottara declares indeed, that chapters 72-73 were originally revealed by Varuna to Râma, which latter is, however, not the son of Dasaratha, but, as is explicitly stated in the beginning of chapter 71, the son of Jamadagni, who belongs to Bhrigu's VIII. V. Dh. I. 73, 60.
of the manes. Their sunrise (takes place) on the eighth (day) of the dark (half of the month); midday on the new moon day: sunset on the eighth of the bright (half of the month); midnight on the full-moon day." Though this passage would agree better with his remark, I do not think that he refers to it, because his remarks on the Siddhantas lead one to infer that he did not know the Paitamaha-Siddhanta (see Vol. I. 153-154).
15 Bêrunt intentionally omits all the numerous expletive words which the Sanskrit anthor requires in order to make up the verse.
16 The beginning and the end of this phrase have been omitted by Bêrûnt, though it must have stood in his text. For without the words ddi and antarala the verse would be incomplete. This omission involves a bad mistake, as it vitiates the calculation. According to Bêrant the
887
Indica I. 372-"The author of the VishnuDharma says:
Twelve hundred divya years are one yuga, called tishya.. The double of it is a dvâpara, the triple a trêtâ, the quadruple a krita, and all four yugas together are one chaturyuga, i.e. the four yugas or sums.18
ब्रह्मायुषा परिच्छन्नः पौरुषो दिवसः स्मृतः । लावती च निशा तस्य यस्येदं सकलं जगत् ॥ ६० ॥
Seventy-one chaturyugas are one manvantara,. and 14 manvantaras, together with a Samdhi of the duration of one Kritayuga between each two of them, are one Kalpa.'"
Two Kalpas are a nychthemeron of Brahman, and his life is a hundred years, or one day of Purusha, the first man of whom neither beginning nor end is known."20
race. The further assertion that the same information was given by Markandeya, and that the latter was a Bhargava, is correct. But the last note regarding Bhargava-Märkandeya's being like the angel of death who kills with his seat, is sheer nonsense. No such story occurs in the V. Dh. or any other Sanskrit work known to me. Bêrâni, who knew, as other passages show, the story of Parasurama-Bhargava, seems to have mixed up the latter with Markandeya. Parasurama slew all the Kshatriyas with his axe and was indeed apratidhrishya. The mention "of the seat," which is utterly inexplicable, is, I suppose, due to a clerical mistake in the Arabic text.
Kalpa consists of 14 x 71-994 Chaturyugas and 13 Sam. dhis 62,400 years 5 Chaturyugas and 2,400 years; while it ought to have 7,600 years more, in order to consist of 1,000 Chaturyugas. Bêrünt states correctly that the Kalpa contains this number (Vol. I. 368).
17 This clanse has probably been omitted intentionally, because it teaches nothing new, but merely sums up the preceding statements.
18 This explanation is not intelligible and probably due to a corruption in the Arabic text. It ought to be i.e. the sum of the four yugas."
19 Bêrani omits all this, probably because he considered it to be mere padding.
20 These words are a translation of verse 60, which is given together with a second rendering by Bêrûnî in the next extract.
